More than 250,000 refugees returned from Sudan to Eritrea between 1991 and 2002, the majority of them without receiving international assistance. Though the causes of this displacement were removed more than ten years ago, there are still some 100,000 Eritrean refugees remaining in Sudan. What factors influence the return of refugees?

A statistical analysis conducted by the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) of a number of nutritional surveys carried out in Eritrea in the last six months indicates that 2.8 million Eritreans - over half the population - are experiencing pre-famine conditions. One-fifth of the population is immediately confronting food shortages that are leading to critical levels of malnutrition among children.

For the first time in their history, Eritreans were engaged, as a sovereign people, in the making of the basic document by which they would be governed. Regarded by Eritreans as the culmination of their legitimate struggle for national self determination, the Constitution became an integral part of this continuous and crucial struggle.

The Writers in Prison Committee of International PEN is deeply concerned at the news of the detention of Ezra Fessehaye, a journalist with the government-owned newspaper "Hadas Eritrea". According to PEN's sources, Fessehaye was arrested by security forces in July 2002 and has not been heard of since.

The UN refugee agency UNHCR has said it is not aware of plans for the forced repatriation of Eritrean refugees from Sudan following assertions by Asmara that Eritreans are being "relocated" by the Sudanese authorities. According to the Eritrean Relief and Refugee Commission (ERREC), the Sudanese authorities have "started deviating" from agreed procedures on the repatriation of Eritrean refugees.